By DAVID J. HILL

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UB’s Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access
(IDeA Center) has received grant funding to test two new types of
securement systems for public transportation riders who use a
wheeled mobility device such as a wheelchair or motorized
scooter.

Part of the three-year, $600,000 research project also will
examine how the autonomous vehicle industry is — or
isn’t — considering accessibility and universal design,
including mobility-device securement, in current practices.

The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and
Rehabilitation Research, which has funded previous IDeA Center
studies related to accessible public transportation, is
administering the award. The co-principal investigators on the
project are Brittany Perez, research associate in the IDeA Center,
and Jordana Maisel, the center’s director of research
activities.

The grant also includes collaborators from UB’s School of
Engineering and Applied Sciences and the School of Public Health
and Health Professions.

This research project will evaluate the strengths and
limitations of two innovative wheelchair-securement systems in
actual service: a three-point, fully integrated, forward-facing
system — called the Q’Pod — and a fully
automated, rear-facing securement system (Quantum).

Both systems have been evaluated previously in a laboratory
setting and demonstrate significant benefits over the conventional
four-point tie-down securement approach, which poses usability
challenges and safety risks for wheeled mobility device users and
bus drivers.

Collaborating with the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
(NFTA) and Q’Straint, the industry leader in wheeled mobility
device securement, IDeA Center researchers will verify the findings
of the laboratory research in service conditions, quantify the
usability benefits for riders and the performance improvements for
operators, and identify the need for future design improvements to
increase adoption of these systems.

Phase I of the project will evaluate the use of both securement
systems in large NFTA buses in fixed-route service. The second
phase will evaluate the Quantum in one of the NFTA’s smaller
paratransit vehicles. The third part of the project will focus on
accessibility in autonomous vehicles.

Researchers hope their findings will help guide transportation
agencies across the country in their securement system purchasing
decisions.